


Lapis kills Lars

by Discreet



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-03 16:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5299121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Discreet/pseuds/Discreet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After escaping from Malachite, Steven takes Lapis out to see the boardwalk. They meet Lars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First

"Please, Lapis! Put him down!"

The human wriggled in the bubble of water, his eyes bulging, his hands clawing at his throat as if he could make gills there.

"He _insulted_ you."

"It's just Lars, Lapis!" Steven was crying, holding onto Lapis's dress, trying to pull her away. "He didn't mean it. Not really!"

"He did mean it. Even though you were being nice. He insulted you!"

Bubbles burst from the human's lips as his lungs finally emptied. He jolted, thrashing wildly as his body desperately tried to find some pocket of air. It didn't take long before his eyes rolled back and his body went limp.

There was a flash of pink and a resounding crash knocked Lapis far back onto the beach. The sand was packed tight, but it cushioned her fall well enough. Still, Lapis's focus slipped.

"Oh please, please, please..."

The water bubble had popped, but the human was blue enough he might as well have still been underwater. Steven was at the human's side, slapping the human wildly and intermittently spitting into his hand.

"Why! Why won't it work!" Steven cried out, his tears heavy and his voice hitching.

Lapis made her way back onto the boardwalk, still scowling at the human, not even bothered that Steven had knocked her away. "He has water in his lungs."

Steven looked up at her, his eyes wide.

"Humans need those to breathe the air, right?" Lapis shrugged, taking Steven's non-response for confusion, "Well, they're filled with water."

"Lapis, you need to get it out of him." Steven stood up, his fists balled up. "You need to get all the water out of his lungs. Now."

Lapis glanced at the human. He had been sneering only a few minutes earlier, taunting Steven. Acting as if he wasn't just some particularly annoying organic meat-bag. As if he was _better_ than Steven. Now the human just lay there. "He deserves this."

Steven threw his hands up, "You! You can't just _kill_ people! Not even if they say mean things!" Steven swung his hands back and forth between Lapis and the human, "This isn't the time to explain, Lapis! Please! Just get the water out of him!"

It was more effort than it was worth and it didn't take much effort. With a sigh, Lapis made a quick motion with her hand and water streamed out of the human's mouth. A moment of silence passed, Steven holding his breath and Lapis not needing to, until finally the human gasped and coughed. They were wet, wheezing coughs, specks of water coming up each time. It was hard to get every last bit of liquid, even for Lapis.

Steven was at the human's side immediately, his saliva-covered hand patting the human down, but it seemed more for Steven's benefit than the human's. Steven wasn't crying quite as hard now, in fact he was kind of laughing. Slowly at first, but rising in pitch until it reached hysterical levels.

"Steven," Lapis walked up to her friend, gently placing her hand on his shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Steven stopped laughing as he turned to look up at Lapis, nothing but concern on her face. Almost immediately, the tears came back. "This isn't going to get any better, is it?"

The human was breathing normally now, but he was exhausted from thrashing so much before and he lay there quietly except for the wheeze of his breath.

Lapis glanced at the human, his eyes met hers in stark white fear. "He'll be fine, Steven. In a few decades, he won't even remember this happened. And then a few more and he'll just die anyways."

Steven looked down, his voice quiet. "I was talking about you."


	2. A Week Earlier

### A WEEK EARLIER

Steven laughs as he throws himself into the waves. The flow of the ocean buffets him before gently rolling him onto the beach. The water was cool and the waves easy, a perfect respite for the summer day.

Lapis watched Steven from the beach. Farther away, the Crystal Gems watched Lapis.

"Come on, Lapis!" Steven beamed, his normally curly hair flat with wetness, "The water's great!"

"Sorry, Steven, I..." Lapis smiled weakly, her voice shrinking as she tried to find an explanation. When she didn't, Lapis stood and turned away. "I'm going inside."

Lapis didn't look back, but she knew Steven wasn't smiling anymore. Watching tensely from the porch, the Crystal Gems were clearly scowling. Angry that Lapis would refuse Steven like that or angry that Steven seemed to care so much. Probably both.

Reluctantly, they let her pass and enter the house, but the Pearl followed close behind.

As Lapis moved to the couch, the Pearl took up a position in the kitchen with a sudden interest in the utensils. She inspected each fork, spoon and knife before separating them into different piles. It was an almost believable act.

"What's the point?" Lapis asked, but the clink of metal on the countertop was the Pearl's only response.

"I know you're watching me."

But the Pearl didn't look up, instead focusing on a particular knife as if it were some great mystery. After a moment of serious deliberation, the Pearl tossed it into the trash.

"You're just waiting for an excuse, aren't you? A good reason for why you'll have to imprison me, again. That'll make it easier to explain to Steven."

The Pearl glanced at Lapis, inspecting Lapis the same way she had with the utensils. Lapis knew what category the Pearl would put her in and something in her began to boil.

"I remember you, you know."

There was a brief flash of confusion on the Pearl's face.

"When I was trapped in the mirror." Lapis stared at the Pearl, "I remember you."

The Pearl stopped sorting.

"You used me to recall the past. The history of Gems and such. But mostly, you used me to remember _her_."

The Pearl gripped the countertop tightly as she glared at Lapis, "Watch what you say."

Lapis didn't even blink, "Even before Steven, when she was still around, you took me to your room and used me to see her. To hear her. You couldn't-"

"Enough!" The Pearl vaulted over the counter-top and in a flash, her spear was at Lapis's throat. "Not another word."

The Pearl was shaking, her eyes simultaneously ablaze and wet. Lapis smiled easily as the spear pressed into her light-body, only an instant from turning her into dust. It would only take a little more now. Lapis cleared her throat and then whispered delicately, her voice a perfect match.

"My Pearl."

* * *

* * *

* * *

Lapis reformed at night. The house was quiet now, dark, but the moon glowed brightly from a window Surprisingly, none of the Crystal Gems were present, but Lapis knew that won't last long. Steven stirred from his place on the couch, his eyes worn red from crying.

"You're back." Steven mumbled, still half-asleep.

Lapis looked at Steven without a trace of emotion, "I thought you'd bubble me."

His face twisted through a range of incomprehension to pain and at last, he looked away. "Why did you say those things to Pearl, Lapis?"

Lapis let her gaze drift up to the moon. "I want to die." Lapis felt the moon pulling on her like the tides, "To really die. Not a corruption. Not imprisonment. Not some twisted fusion. I just want to leave this world forever. I want to leave this whole universe.

"I hate this world. And Homeworld… it was my last hope. My last chance to have something to hold onto. But Homeworld is different now. I'm no better than a Crystal Gem to them. A traitor.

"Everyone I knew is either dead or corrupted. And whether it's Earth or Homeworld, I'm a fugitive. There's nothing left for me, Steven."

"Lapis..." Steven held onto her, had been since she started talking, but now he squeezed tighter and Lapis felt his tears dotting her dress.

"It's just you, Steven." Lapis said quietly, placing a hand on his trembling head. "You're the only one who cares."

"You… you just have to give it some time." Steven mumbled weakly, "The Crystal Gems, they'll understand. You're a good person, Lapis."

Lapis smiled, patting Steven softly. "Sure."


End file.
